


Taking a Break

by Yrindor



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: Collars, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff and Angst, Hair Brushing, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-05
Updated: 2016-11-05
Packaged: 2018-08-29 03:12:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8473258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yrindor/pseuds/Yrindor
Summary: Trying to fill in for Tezuka isn't an easy task.  Luckily for Oishi, Eiji is there to remind him that's not the only thing that matters.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nobetterpicture](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nobetterpicture/gifts).



> Happy NaNo 5k!

It was fully dark when Eiji woke from his nap, which wasn't a good sign. He had only meant to take a short nap after dinner while Oishi finished compiling his notes on practice. Then Oishi was supposed to wake him so they could watch a movie together.

One glance across the room confirmed his suspicions—Oishi was still hunched over his desk, working in the small pool of light cast by the desk lamp. Sighing, he stretched and padded across the room, flipping on the overhead light on the way.

"Oishi~," he murmured as he leaned over Oishi's shoulder. From that angle, he could see the pile of papers covering the desk. They all seemed to be drafts of team formations they could use for Nationals. Given that the lineup they'd used successfully against Rikkai appeared to be buried at the bottom of the pile, and the current page had him playing singles and Oishi nowhere to be found, he was fairly certain it had ceased being a productive exercise some time ago.

"I don't know how Tezuka does this," Oishi said as he slid one of Inui's many notebooks over to cover the pages. "I'll never be able to fill his shoes."

"You don't need to," he said, rubbing the back of Oishi's neck. "You're filling in for him, not replacing him, and you're doing just fine."

"So far, but Nationals is a whole different level. What if I mess up before Tezuka comes back?"

"We all know how hard you've been working. If we lose, it's not going to be through any fault of yours," he said, then frowned when he noticed Oishi rubbing his wrist. "You need to stop overworking yourself. You're going to strain your wrist again if you keep writing for hours like this, and then where will we be?"

Oishi tensed under his hands, and his own heart beat faster in the silence that followed. When he couldn't take it any longer, he broke off rubbing Oishi's shoulders to run a thumb across his cheek. "Oishi?" he asked hesitantly.

Oishi relaxed again. "Sorry, it's nothing."

 _It's not nothing_ , he wanted to say, but he knew it would be a fruitless argument if Oishi didn't want to elaborate, so he held his tongue, returned to digging his thumbs into the knots in Oishi's shoulders, and tried to ignore the uneasy feeling niggling at the back of his mind. A few minutes later, Oishi finally began to relax into him.

He was just starting to relax himself when Oishi's eyes snapped open and he pulled away to rifle through Inui's notes.

"Oishi," he warned.

"I just thought of something. I need to check—"

"You can check tomorrow."

"I don't want to forget. It won't take long."

"Oishi…"

"Almost done. Now where was it?"

He sighed as Oishi set the first notebook aside and picked up another. "I'll be right back," he said, kissing Oishi on the top of the head before he left.

When he returned a minute later, he was carrying a simple leather collar.

"Oishi," he said firmly, dangling the black leather in front of Oishi's nose.

Oishi froze, then slowly reached up to take the collar from Eiji's hands.

Eiji waited to see what would happen next. The rules were simple; if Oishi set the collar aside, then he'd go back to wheedling and begging until Oishi finally stopped for the night, but if Oishi didn't, then he would be the one to set the rules for the rest of the night.

Finally, Oishi closed his eyes and held out the collar, and Eiji let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

"You deserve a break, Oishi," he said as he buckled the leather into place.

The effect was instantaneous. Oishi didn't open his eyes as he slumped forward, and Eiji pulled him into his chest, scratching him behind his ears.

He let Oishi have a couple of minutes to just be and settle into the correct headspace before he stopped and tugged on Oishi's bangs. Oishi pouted at him.

"I'm not stopping," he promised, "just pausing to make it even better. Go put on your pajamas, and then come join me in the bedroom." He kissed Oishi on the top of the head once more for good measure before he broke off the hug entirely. He didn't show it, but he didn't like the sudden lack of contact either. He quickly changed into his own pajamas and made sure he had everything he wanted by the bed before Oishi came back.

"Come sit with me," he ordered as soon as Oishi walked back through the door, and Oishi crawled onto the bed beside him.

Once Oishi was comfortably curled up by his side, he took Oishi's brush out of the nightstand. Oishi's hair was short enough he didn't technically need to brush most of it at all, but he knew Oishi loved the feel of the rubber bristles against his head, and he was more than happy to oblige, especially when it made Oishi so pliable and happy.

"You like this, don't you?" he asked when Oishi started to lean into his hand, shifting so that Eiji would hit all of his favorite spots. When Oishi just hummed contentedly in reply, he knew he had achieved his goal. He kept running the brush over Oishi's hair and rubbing Oishi's back with his free hand until Oishi's playfulness turned into exhaustion, and he curled up with his head in Eiji's lap. He let out a sleepy hum when Eiji scratched him behind the ears.

"Let's get the tired puppy to bed," Eiji teased, nudging Oishi off of his lap and under the covers. Oishi barely stirred as Eiji tucked the blankets in around him and kissed him goodnight. Normally, he would take Oishi's collar off before going to bed, but something told him that would just lead to Oishi waking up in the middle of the night and feeling compelled to pick up where he had left off. The collar could stay until morning, he decided as he slid under the blankets.


End file.
